31
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between Overdrive and Distortion?
From a sound design / sound engineer context
As an effect, distortion is any process that alters the sound in the harmonic (tone, timbre) domain.
Overdrive is a type of distortion. It is achieved ...
- 15.9k
20
votes
Accepted
Why is reverb typically called "wet' or "drippy"?
Reverb is actually the effect of playing in confined, walled spaces - the sound bounces off the walls giving a diffused sort of echo. In a wide open space there is zero reverb. (The original, now ...
- 77.9k
19
votes
Accepted
Why use delay instead of reverb?
Reverb and delay aren't completely unrelated effects - reverb can be thought of as a network of many short delays.
While reverb can provide a realistic simulation of an acoustic space, using a lot ...
- 45.6k
17
votes
How to obtain a Clean yet Distorted guitar sound?
The sounds in the songs you've listed are actually pretty different to my ears, but I'll try to generalize and go through some examples.
Here is the raw line for reference. This is a modified strat ...
- 293
14
votes
Accepted
Is a sustain pedal the same as a sustainer pedal?
No.
A sustain pedal is a simple switch with a piece of cable attached that the keyboard uses to emulate the function of the sustain pedal on the piano - which basically means "let ring the notes when ...
13
votes
How can I get a violin sound from my electric guitar?
very simple answer...
E-Bow
I've had one for 30 years, there's nothing quite like it, but it is a technique in & of itself.
You can do the standard 'never-ending note' by simply holding it over ...
- 22.5k
13
votes
Accepted
What is the guitar effect being used in Fine Young Cannibals' She Drives Me Crazy?
Yeah, it's a heavy comp, but it's combined with the actual playing style, which is a really slow drag across the chord each time.
I think it's either combined with a slight delay panned half right, or ...
- 22.5k
12
votes
Accepted
How should I interpret decimals in guitar tabs?
I believe that this is referring to where you would place your finger to get the desired harmonics. The harmonic that generates the major third is right before the 4th fret, which would be 3.85. 3.2 ...
- 7,379
11
votes
Accepted
How to make swell effect on electric guitar?
Often called violining, either use the swell (volume) pedal or the volume pot on your guitar. Strat style guitars are pretty good for this, as Leo thought to put the volume control quite close to the ...
- 173k
11
votes
How to make swell effect on electric guitar?
One way to get this effect is with an envelope filter. Then you will get it automatically, as the volume starts at 0 when the string is plucked, and then increases (with the correct settings).
- 6,657
11
votes
How can I get a violin sound from my electric guitar?
The important part of a violin sound is a gentle attack at the start of each note. Some players use a volume or swell pedal to achieve this: the note is played just as the pedal swells the volume in. ...
- 173k
11
votes
Accepted
Basic effects for bass
I have a somewhat unique approach to playing bass, much more aggressive lines and sometimes play what would be considered a lead line if a guitar was playing it (or other lead instrument). With that ...
- 7,379
10
votes
Accepted
Describe the 4 cable method for connecting a multi effect pedal to a guitar amp
Some effects (like wah or fuzz) work better* when they come before the preamp while some effects (like delay or reverb) work better* if they come after it. Yet some others (chorus or tremolo) can work ...
- 5,021
10
votes
Accepted
Chorus pedal, before or after the distortion?
Of course, it is a matter of taste.
You're correct that a chorus creates multiple “voices”, but actually that's a good reason to put it after distortion! For distortion is nonlinear, ...
- 33.4k
10
votes
How to obtain a Clean yet Distorted guitar sound?
The dirt and grime that comes from distortion is a result of notes with frequency relationships beyond those that are very simple ratios (e.g. 2:1=an octave, and 3:2=a fifth) going through the ...
- 45.6k
9
votes
Glossary of Guitar Effects
Ring Modulator
Ring modulation takes two separate signals and multiplies them. A ring modulator will typically take the input signal from an instrument and mix it with a second signal generated by an ...
9
votes
Glossary of Guitar Effects
Freeze pedal
Sometimes also called a "granular synthesizer", this effect allows guitarists to infinitely sustain what they are currently playing on their guitars.
Simple versions of this pedal are ...
9
votes
Glossary of Guitar Effects
Wah-wah (or just "wah")
This is effectively a foot-operated parametric equaliser.
A frequency is determined normally by the position of a foot pedal. The input signal is boosted at, and around, this ...
9
votes
Accepted
How can you get guitar and bass tone out of a guitar?
The bass is normally tuned one octave lower than the guitar, therefore you can achieve the same frequency range by lowering the frequency by one octave. You can achieve this with any form of frequency ...
- 15.9k
9
votes
Accepted
When should I use a boost pedal in a performance?
Basically you use the boost pedal any time you need an extra bit of volume to stand out. Typically this is during a guitar solo, but yes, sometimes it is also useful in a song's chorus if the whole ...
- 2,437
9
votes
How to use delay with distortion/overdrive and/or a crunchy amp?
When your effects are adding to the sound, you need to balance that by subtracting something in your playing.
So for example, when heavy distortion is adding loads of new frequencies, playing two-...
- 35.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Would adding delay after the loadbox make it the same as if adding it in the effects loop?
Would having the delay after the cab sim ruin it? No
Would it sound different if the delay was in the effects loop? It depends.
It depends on what kind of delay you are using and how it is changing ...
- 51k
9
votes
Should I connect my multi-effects pedal to PA or Amp?
It depends, really. If you decide to connect it to the input your amp, you do want to disable the amp modelling in the pedal (assuming that's possible).
I can think of three ways to hook this up. I'...
- 51k
9
votes
Accepted
How do bass effects differ from guitar effects?
Sometimes it's just the color of the case, the branding (Bass Fuzz X28-B instead of just Fuzz X28), and the marketing ("As seen in Bass Magazine!").
If it goes beyond that, well obviously bass ...
- 51k
9
votes
Accepted
How is this octave jump achieved on electric guitar?
Pinch harmonics
In the example video, she is using a type of artificial harmonic known as a pinch harmonic, which involves simultaneously hitting the string with the pick (plectrum) and (usually the) ...
- 505
9
votes
Effect for "rounding off" guitar pick attack
I don’t think Kurt is using an effect, I think he’s using a technique. Some techniques that round out the attack include:
Plucking with fingers
Picking/plucking closer to the fingerboard
Using the ...
- 51k
8
votes
Glossary of Guitar Effects
Bit Crusher
Converts the sound to digital (then back to analogue) using a bit depth that is intentionally low enough to add noise and distortion to the signal due to quantisation error. This also ...
8
votes
Accepted
Is True Bypass better than Buffered Bypass? Is it possible to be neither?
TL;DR
Which is better? That's up to your ears. Both bypasses have trade-offs: True Bypass is the most pure and high-fidelity, but it exposes your signal to long-cable degradation (plus it's more ...
- 20.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible